Candlelight collaboration

Each year, on a Saturday evening in early December, the Candlelight Walking Tour transforms the Village of Granville into the sort of magical holiday scene that you find in storybooks.

The streets are lined with Christmas trees, and luminaria brighten the sidewalks. Villagers and visitors alike gather in the center of town to shop and dine, to greet Santa, and to take in the holiday-themed musical performances that are presented by local churches.

One such performance has become a tradition. For nearly a decade, members of Ladies’ Night Out, a Denison a cappella group, have made their way down College Hill to join voices with the First Presbyterian Church’s High School Choir as part of the church’s Candlelight Tour program.

This year, the two groups collaborated on “D’ou viens-tu, bergere?,” a traditional Québécois carol sung in French that translates, “From where are you coming, shepherdess?”

Adding to the performance’s Denison connections were two alumnae: the church’s youth choir director, Joy Worcester Hire ’74, and the choir’s accompanist, Meredith Park Needham ’78. Not coincidentally, both were active choral singers during their time as students.